Caramelized Banana Ice Cream
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From David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop, this banana ice cream is one of the best homemade ice creams I’ve ever made.
The first time I tried true banana ice cream, made from real bananas, was at Berthillon, the renowned ice cream shop on Île St-Louis in Paris. This version, adapted from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop and made with caramelized roasted bananas, is rich and creamy, and brings back all those delicious taste memories. What’s great about banana ice cream is its naturally low fat content. The pureed bananas give it a thick, creamy texture without any eggs or heavy cream—making it a lighter yet utterly satisfying treat.
What You’ll Need To Make Caramelized Banana Ice Cream
- Overripe Bananas: Provide intense banana flavor and natural sweetness to the ice cream, further enhanced by caramelization during cooking.
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds a rich caramel-like sweetness to the ice cream, complementing the flavor of the bananas.
- Butter: Combined with the brown sugar, it forms a rich caramel sauce that coats the bananas, infusing them with deep flavor and adding complexity to the ice cream.
- Whole Milk: Contributes to the creamy texture of the ice cream, ensuring a smooth, indulgent consistency. If you have them on hand, you can substitute 1 cup of low-fat or skim milk plus 1/2 cup of heavy cream for the milk.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the ice cream base and helps to balance the flavors.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds depth and enhances the overall flavor profile of the ice cream.
- Lemon Juice: Brightens the flavors and provides a subtle tangy contrast to the sweetness of the bananas and caramel.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Slice the bananas into 1/2-inch pieces and combine them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish.
Stir until the sugar dissolves into a wet caramel-colored coating.
Bake for about 40 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the bananas are soft and golden brown.
Immediately transfer the caramelized bananas to a blender or food processor (if you wait too long, the caramel will start to harden).
Add the milk, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt.
Process until the mixture is completely smooth.
Chill the mixture in the refrigerator, then freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
As with most homemade ice creams, the mixture will not get completely firm in the machine. It’s best to transfer the creamy ice cream to a container and freeze it for a few hours until firm enough to scoop.
Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
To make the most flavorful banana ice cream, it’s important to use very ripe bananas. To ripen bananas quickly, store them in a loosely sealed brown paper bag. If you have other fruit on hand (an apple works well) put it in the bag with the bananas. The ethylene gas the fruit gives off will circulate in the bag and ripen the bananas within 24 to 36 hours. Just check them periodically to see how they’re coming along.
Unfortunately not—to achieve the wonderful creamy texture, an ice cream machine is required. If you don’t have one yet, it’s worth considering, as homemade ice creams, yogurts, and sorbets are a joy to make. That said, if you’re not ready to buy an ice cream machine, you can still enjoy homemade no-churn ice creams, including key lime pie ice cream, Vietnamese coffee ice cream, and Oreo cheesecake ice cream.
Yep, the ice cream will keep, tightly covered, for up to 1 week. Before serving, let it sit out on the countertop for a bit to soften enough to scoop.
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Caramelized Banana Ice Cream
From David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop, this banana ice cream is one of the best homemade ice creams I’ve ever made.
Ingredients
- 3 medium-sized overripe bananas, peeled
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Slice the bananas into ½-inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish until the sugar dissolves into a wet caramel-colored coating. Bake for about 40 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the bananas are soft and golden brown.
- Immediately transfer the bananas and caramel syrup into a blender or food processor (if you wait too long, the caramel will begin to harden). Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt, and purée until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.
- Give the mixture a quick whisk, then freeze in ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer soft ice cream to plastic container and chill for a few hours until firm. Scoop and serve.
- Note: My only issue with this recipe is that it makes a rather small quantity of ice cream. If you double it, it makes 6 cups of ice cream base, which is too much for most standard ice cream machines. I have two bowls for my ice cream maker so I typically double the recipe and freeze it in two batches. If you only have one bowl and want to double the recipe, you can save half the base in the refrigerator overnight, then re-freeze your bowl for the second batch.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Serving size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 169
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Sugar: 26 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 79 mg
- Cholesterol: 11 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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What an awesome recipe! I replaced the whole milk with almond milk (barista blend) and it came out perfectly. My family absolutely loves it! Thank you ☺️
Did you add the cream also along with the Almond milk? I am dairy free.
I have made this twice in the past week, it is that amazingly delicious. It tastes like a super creamy banana foster ice cream. It’s extremely easy to make. It has became our favorite.
Made this just as the recipe says, except doubled it for my larger ice cream freezer. DELICIOUS! I have been making homemade ice cream for decades, but this is the creamiest I have ever made. Perfect ice cream!! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
This is a really wonderful recipe as is. Any suggestions for add-ins on the next go around? Raisins, maybe chocolate chucks? Any other ideas?
Hi Sandy, I think rum-soaked raisins would be delicious.
Thanks Jen
Great minds think alike. That’s exactly what I did. I used a Rum that had large vanilla notes and soaked them. The only regret was I didn’t soak enough, only about a 1/4 cup. Next time I will go with maybe 1/2 cup. The husband thought it was the best yet. I appreciated you responding even if it is after the fact.
😊
Hi Jenn, I’m making this recipe tonight. I didn’t have milk so I used a combination of almond milk and 35% fat cream. I did add in a splash of brandy and I doubled the sugar quantity (I have an extremely sweet tooth) tomorrow after churning and freezing we will have it with sourdough waffles and a raspberry cherry coulis featuring the caramelised banana icecream. Judging from the flavour before I froze it – it tastes amazing! I know the freezer will mellow out the excess sugar but if not, I won’t complain 😉 thanks for a great recipe thus far
Hope you enjoy, Ashleigh! 🙂
Hi! This sounds great, but I was wondering if there was an alternative to use instead of rum or vodka, or could I just omit this? Thanks so much (:
Hi Olivia, I’m wondering if you’re confusing this with my strawberry yogurt as this one doesn’t contain any alcohol. If you’re referring to the strawberry yogurt, you can just omit the vodka. 🙂
OMG, this ice cream is soooo good! Thanks for adding another fantastic recipe to your/my collection. It was so creamy, no ice crystals, not too sweet, just right… This ice cream will be a frequent visitor in my freezer..:-)
HI! Can I use 2% milk in the recipe?
Thank you!!!
Hi Kim, If you only have 2% milk, you can use 1 cup of that plus 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Hope you enjoy!
Delicious, smooth and creamy with great banana taste. I made this two nights ago and froze in my Simac last night. I followed instructions exactly except my baking dish was a bit bigger than 2 qt so I removed the bananas/light brown sugar/butter from the oven at 35 minutes. I’ll eat it tonight!
This ice cream is terrific! I needed to make a few adjustments; used bananas that I’d frozen for bread making and because of the warmer weather and not wanting to use the oven, I simmered the banana mixture in a heavy pan on the stove. It worked perfect. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
Hi Jenn,
I would like to make this but I don’t have ice cream 🍨 machine any suggestions?
Thanks
Rose G.
Hi Rose, Unfortunately, you really need an ice cream machine for this recipe. So sorry!